The non-evil duck#
I'm a huge fan of https://duckduckgo.com and I now use it for all my web and image searches for Steemit, and I recommend you do the same too to protect your own privacy. But why do so many people still use the non-private evil Google? I think it boils down to four main reasons:
1. Branding
Everyone knows Google, so they stick to what they like. They stick to the same bank account that they like just like they stick to the same washing powder.
'Google it' is probably the most used phrase in the English language at the moment, and is used in everything from 'Who was the last King of Scotland?' to diagnosing the latest aches and pains.
Duckduckgo is really only known by geeks and techies and has never really made the mainstream market. This is a shame as technically it's a super-fast search engine - faster than Google in my estimation.
2. The spelling
Yes, you guessed it. Duckduckgo is a pain in the ass to type compared to your quick and friendly Google, but with modern browsers, the autofill really takes care of the rest, so there is no real excuse here.
3. Google money talks
It's in Googles best interest to pay browser companies for the exclusive rights to be the default search engine of choice, which makes it a pain in the ass for people to change who are not technically minded. I myself have had to change it several times for my own family who like to use Yahoo! No converts there then.
4. Cool features are not enough
We know all know this well enough on Steemit. You can have the fastest and coolest features on the market, but if you don't have a rabid market niche of people, then things get tough pretty quickly. Duckduckgo stores no privacy information on you and is ultra-fast at searching.
A lot of people think Google is free, but it's not. It's constantly mining you for information to store away for itself. This is where a blockchain search engine could perhaps comes in, so privacy could be assured - this idea was touted by @blacktiger
Bottom $: Don't follow the rabid packs on Google. Just like you left Facebook to come to Steemit, do the same for your search engine browser too. Your browser will thank you for it I promise.
Steem on!